MLB rumors: Several teams in on Shota Imanaga; Mets exploring Justin Turner reunion

The 2023-24 MLB offseason is six weeks old and, with Juan Soto traded and Shohei Ohtani signed, the next big piece to come off the board figures to be Japanese righty Yoshinobu Yamamoto. Yamamoto held in-person meetings with teams this week and could make his decision sometime next week, if not sooner. Until then, here are the latest hot stove rumors.

Multiple teams interested in Imanaga

The Cubs, Dodgers, Mets, Red Sox, and Yankees are among the teams with interest in Japanese lefty Shota Imanaga, reports the New York Post. Those clubs are all in on Yoshinobu Yamamoto, the top available free agent starter, so it seems they all consider Imanaga a backup plan. Imanaga’s 45-day posting window closes Jan. 11, one week after Yamamoto’s. Imanaga is our No. 42 free agent.

The 30-year-old Imanaga threw 159 innings with a 2.66 ERA and 188 strikeouts — he had a higher strikeout rate than Yamamoto — this past season. Although he’s very good on his own, Imanaga is considered a notch or two south of Yamamoto. Baseball America says his “feel for pitching gives him a chance to be a No. 4 or 5 starter.” It seems likely Imanaga will command a contract close to $100 million. Perhaps even more.

Mets discussing Turner reunion

The Mets have been engaged in discussions with free agent Justin Turner, reports the New York Post. Turner played parts of four seasons with the Mets from 2010-13. New York non-tendered him following the 2013 season, prompting Turner to remake his swing. He then went on to become one of the game’s top hitters with the Dodgers. Turner is our No. 21 free agent this offseason.

Now 39, Turner remains a productive hitter, though he doesn’t play much third base these days. This past season he played 98 games at DH, 41 games at first, and only seven at third. The Mets recently lost top prospect Ronny Mauricio to a torn ACL, meaning Brett Baty and Joey Wendle figure to be the primary third basemen. Turner would be an upgrade over Daniel Vogelbach at DH, and anything he can give them at third base would be a bonus.

Giants considering trading young pitchers

The Giants are considering trading from their group of young pitchers to improve other parts of the roster, according to The Athletic. That group could include righties Tristan Beck and Keaton Winn, and prospects Carson Whisenhunt and Mason Black. Lefty and top prospect Kyle Harrison is presumably off-limits. San Francisco may only go through with a young pitcher trade if they’re able to land a veteran starter to bolster the rotation.

This past season the Giants ranked 24th in runs scored and 19th in home runs. They could use help all over the field, really, but especially at shortstop. Brandon Crawford is a free agent and nearing the end of his career. Top prospect Marco Luciano made his MLB debut in 2023, though he has played only 56 games in Double-A and 18 in Triple-A. Some more time in the minors wouldn’t be the worst thing in the world. Moving an arm for a shortstop would be a sensible move for the Giants.

Matsui visits Cardinals

Longtime Japanese closer Yuki Matsui visited the Cardinals on Thursday, according to MLB.com. The 28-year-old left-hander has 235 career saves in Japan, and has pitched to a 2.36 ERA with 941 strikeouts in 704 innings. Baseball America says Matsui has a low-90s fastball and an out-pitch splitter, adding he “projects to be a low-to-mid leverage reliever (who) handles both lefties and righties.” St. Louis already has two lefties (John King and JoJo Romero) penciled into their bullpen, but it doesn’t sound like Matsui would be limited strictly to left-on-left matchup work.

Braves planning to flip Carpenter

The Braves are planning to trade Matt Carpenter, reports The Athletic. Carpenter came over in a salary dump trade with the Padres on Friday and Atlanta took on $4 million of the $5.5 million remaining on his contract to get lefty reliever Ray Kerr. The Braves did something similar with Marco Gonzales, Max Stassi, and Evan White earlier this offseason. They took on their contracts to gain access to other players, then ate money to flip them elsewhere. It seems they’ll do the same with Carpenter now.